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Procrastinating parents rejoice: 9 easy last-minute Halloween costumes

Look no further than around your own home for everything you need to make these clever, last-minute costumes.
/ Source: TODAY Contributor

With mere hours until Halloween, if you haven't secured a costume for your kids, chances are you're dreading it. There's the wading through picked-over costumes at your local store, and then the trying to convince your kids to embrace this year's unwanted costumes.

But dread not — because the TODAY Parenting Team has your last-minute Halloween costume needs covered. These costume ideas that can be made with items you've already got around your house, or, if you're feeling super motivated, can be picked up at your closest drug store.

1. Bob Ross and his "happy little painting"

Stacybeckasa/TODAY Parenting Team

Cardboard, paint, and whatever you have lying around the house that you can use to draw a beard on a toddler are all you need to create this amazing "Bob Ross and his 'happy little painting'" costume submitted by TODAY Parenting Team Contributor Stacybeckasa.

2. Jackie O and Audrey Hepburn

Rachel Rosenthal

TODAY Parenting Team Contributor Rachel Rosenthal says she created these iconic Jackie O and Audrey Hepburn costumes for her twin daughters with items she had around the house.

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"The girls pulled from thrift store finds, their mom's closet, and yes, even their dress-up bin," wrote Rosenthal.

3. Corduroy

chasingbabiesanddreams/TODAY Parenting Team

Does your child ask you to read "Corduroy" every night at bedtime? Why not pull out some overalls, make a bear-ears headband, and let your kid trick-or-treat as his favorite storybook character, like TODAY Parenting Team Contributor chasingbabiesanddreams?

4. Wind-up doll

Cortney Mcleod

"Simple costume for my real life doll," Cortney Mcleod wrote in a post on the TODAY Parenting Team.

Mcleod painted a cardboard wind-up key and dressed her daughter up in a fancy dress to pull off this simple-but-adorable costume.

5. Biker baby

Hilary Van Housen

Hilary Van Housen called this biker baby ensemble "a very easy, DIY costume" when she shared a photo of her son on the TODAY Parenting Team. Pull that tricycle out of the garage, find a black shirt, a bandana and some stick-on tattoos, and your little one can also ride around the neighborhood in style.

6. Jack and the beanstalk

chasingbabiesanddreams/TODAY Parenting Team

A pool noodle and some greenery are all TODAY Parenting Team Contributor chasingbabiesanddreams needed to create this amazing Jack-and-the-beanstalk costume for her son.

"It was very easy to put together with items we already had," she wrote on the TODAY Parenting Team.

7. Care Bears

Destiny Paquette

We love this DIY Care Bears costume created by TODAY Parenting Team Contributor Destiny Paquette.

Paquette used sweatsuits and white foam circles to create this unique Halloween look.

"A family of Care Bears really will make everyone stop and stare," she wrote. "And, this costume is both easy and warm to wear."

8. God's gift to women

Stacy Ann/TODAY Parenting Team

TODAY Parenting Team Contributor Stacy Ann shared this funny costume she made for her son using a cardboard box and some wrapping paper.

"My most favorite, easy costume," she wrote in her post. "Everyone loved this costume."

9. Marathon runner

Jenna Wilson30/TODAY Parenting Team

A simple, homemade race bib and a cute runner's outfit were all TODAY Parenting Team Contributor Jenna Wilson30 needed to create this cute marathon runner costume for her baby.